Universal Billboards!

by   August 5, 2026 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Wouldn’t it be cool if there were loudspeakers announcing across every country, every nation, every village the wonderful message of God’s love? What if airplanes flew low and dropped leaflets in the language of each person? Maybe a parade could march through every town, playing music which pointed folks to their Creator. In the biggest cities giant billboards would broadcast digital images drawing citizens to God.

I think that’s a great idea. We could saturate the whole world with displays of God’s great power and love. But where could we get the money for such an undertaking?

We could have a yard sale.

Hmmm…

Good thing God didn’t wait for me to implement the plan. It’s already done.

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The skies display His craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;

Night after night they make Him known.

They speak without a sound or word;

Their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

And their words to all the world.”

This beautiful plan to draw mankind to Himself through creation has been in place from the beginning. Even for us who know the Lord well and are used to His kindness, it’s amazing to watch a mama bird caring for her little ones. A star filled night reminds me of how small I am and what an awesome God we serve.

It causes me to understand better why Satan would make such an effort to quiet creation’s testimony. The evolution theory did not originate with scientists. How funny to “reason” that all this just happened because conditions were right.

The Lord of the universe is drawing all to Himself through creation. Let’s be faithful in showing them the rest of the story as given in His Word.

“The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul.

The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

 The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living.”*

The testimony of Creation and the Word will not be silenced.

May we be just as faithful!

See Psalm 19*

Photo by my sweet daddy, Seabert Pittman

Music to my Ears

by   August 4, 2026 with No Comments

Steve Hartman tells the story of an autistic boy who can play a piano… no, I mean he can REALLY play a piano. You have to listen to believe this one. And the lesson is…. ENJOY!!!

STRESS In the Eye of the Storm

by   August 3, 2026 with No Comments

Max Lucado tells us that Jesus had stressful days. The Son of God had stressful days??? If He had stressful days then He can understand that we have them too. Listen as Max shares thoughts from his book, “The Eye of the Storm.”

The Best Tomatoes Around

by   August 2, 2026 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

Where do you get the best tomatoes, perfectly ripened for a good ‘mater sandwich? Some grocery stores rank higher than others, perhaps. I do like a good farm-fresh market or road stand, though I confess I do not make enough time to stop by those. If I grew them myself, that would be a sweet reward, but alas, my gardening efforts always suffer (I have tried more than once). I suppose I’m more suited for other things.

But if I had to say for certain where I get the best tomatoes, it would be from a neighbor who just knows I’m the only one in a house of seven who enjoys a raw tomato and rarely buys them for myself. They seem to have a sweeter taste than any other tomato. I love the way they adorn a plate of meat and side veggies at supper (that’s “dinner,” for those who have transplanted from other regions). These tomatoes level up a BLT so much better than the store-bought variety. What else would I put on a white bread and Duke’s sandwich? (Who said, “Hellman’s”?) Ok, I do sometimes sub tomato for canned sliced pineapples. Is that weird? I grew up on those. Anyone else?

I’ve enjoyed other produce and herbs lately – namely squash, cucumbers, and basil. There have been some years I think my husband, the pastor of our church, is the minister on The Little House on the Prairie, receiving the bounty of a summer harvest from congregants.

It’s a lot like a simple sandwich made by the loving hands of a mother or friend, tasting so much sweeter. I know that when I receive a tomato or a handful of seeds, there was a lot of selfless work and even toil involved. Planning, planting, weeding, watering, protecting. Blessings birthed from such effort are precious gifts.

I have always been a saver of most things that I wanted to savor later.  I remember as a little girl when Oreo did not make 100+ varieties of cookies, but they would make a fudge-dipped Oreo in a special sleeve. I would get a pack for myself (quite a splurge!) and hide it in my sock drawer. I would savor what I saved for weeks. Today, I may still do the same thing with the single tomato given by a friend, using a couple of slices for a sandwich and saving a slice or two to go with supper or even my over-medium eggs the next day.

The gifts the ground produces with the help of my friend and the hand of a Sustaining Creator bring a smile to my face and make me grateful to be content with simple things shared in love. I’m grateful for those who share their bounty with those not quite as adept at growing a garden or perhaps who cannot make the time in different seasons of life. Who has shared with you lately? Who have you been able to bless with something you may think is just a small thing?

Ashlie Miller almost kept a mint plant alive and thriving for all of three months. You can send her your gardening or other advice to mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com.

Fighting Back

by   August 1, 2026 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

Fighting Back!

            Last week I got out in the garden and harvested some rewards for my hard work. We dug up some nice potatoes, enjoyed some corn, and savored fresh tomatoes. I had space to plant some new crops so I put out some more corn, string beans, butter beans, and some sunflowers. I hope to plant a cherry tomato and maybe some squash this weekend.

I wrote about how the weeds were winning in my garden last week. The cooler temperatures last weekend gave me a chance to fight back. I pulled countless weeds, wheelbarrows full of them, out of my garden. I worked in both the vegetable and flower beds to clean those weeds out. Please don’t check behind me, there are still plenty more out there, but parts of the garden are looking better. 

            I feel good about the progress and look forward to attacking them even more this upcoming weekend. Weeds are a constant battle. If you don’t stay on them they will win and overtake any garden space. I pull weeds, spray them, and try to use mulch to keep them down. But no matter how hard I try, they seem to find a way to sneak in.

            There are many weeds that creep into our lives. Often they are small and we barely notice them. A little doubt. Fear and worry. A small habit. A bit of laziness. Things that may seem inconsequential. Skipping prayer or reading the Bible…just for today. Allowing that negative thought an opportunity to stew. Weeds! We should stop them. Nip them in the bud, as Barney Fife would tell us. But we overlook or ignore them. We hope they won’t take root and find a home in our lives. But…they do.

            I think the real problem is that they require effort to remove. We are tired. We’ve had a busy day. We’ll work on that tomorrow. We know better. Tomorrow will be another busy day. Pulling that weed, changing a negative habit, building good habits all require work, more effort, and I am already tired. We know we shouldn’t just let it go, but then we have to summon the energy to pull that little weed out of our life.

            If we aren’t careful, the little weed will find a home. Removing it requires ME to change. I really don’t like change. Now the little weed begins to grow. It’s not so bad, right? Wrong! The little things that grab our attention can lead us away from the things that God has for us. God has great plans for our lives that will require us to be focused. Those weeds have distracted us and kept us from God’s best for our lives.  

            Let’s be honest… It’s hard to stop bad habits. It’s hard to build and maintain good habits. We simply do not like change. There is a part of us that wants to change. Consider all the diet and self-help books on the market. They work sometimes for some people. Why don’t they work all the time for all of us? I think it comes back to our desire to fight.

            We need to look at the things in our life that need to change as weeds. We have to decide that we want to remove the weeds. It’s a fight to tell your flesh NO! Our spirit has to tell our flesh that the weeds have to go. We have to rise up and fight for the change. We have to decide. The decision is not easy because our flesh will fight back.

We have to remember that we have a great cloud of witnesses that are cheering us on. We may need help from friends, family, pastors, and even doctors to finally pull the weeds out of our lives. We will certainly need to pray, be in the Word of God, and depend on the power of the Spirit of God to help us succeed. We might fall down in the process, but we will learn to lean on those around us until we finally overcome!

            I want to encourage you to fight back, to take those weeds out of your life. Whether they are little or big God wants you to get the weeds out of your spiritual gardens. He has things that He wants to grow in you but He needs the space to make them grow. It will take prayer, faith, and the power of the Spirit, but I believe you will see the victory. I don’t want you to miss one thing God has for you. Get ready to fight back and discover the great things He has for you.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Last of the Nine

by   July 31, 2026 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

A road trip to the Sandhills of South Carolina is required. Unlike most requirements, this one is given freely because of the summer days I spent with Aunt Lynn and her husband Uncle Gene when I was a young boy. 

The year 1928 was not the best of times to be born, but Aunt Lynn’s parents and nine children managed through the Great Depression, even using it like a fire to temper their strength and resolve. She grew and married a local boy, Eugene Burch. They, too, farmed– cotton, corn, soy beans, corn, timber, wheat, and what ever else would bring them a profit. They also had chicken houses and that is how I experienced some wonderful summer days as their egg gatherer, cleaner, grader, and packer. But most of all, I remember those summer days as ones where I was given the responsible for me: The accountability of how I performed my egg duties, how I chopped my two rows of cotton as Uncle Gene chopped his four, and how I managed the other given tasks that, when done correctly, contributed to the farm’s success.

Aunt Lynn allowed me to grow during those hot summer days by giving me freedom that her older sister, my mother, could not. She shepherded me so that any decision I made seemingly was mine, but they were mostly hers. Her stern hand guided me as she fed me great meals that never seemed to lack anything a young boy wanted.

But every great summer day ended, and a ride for me with some local farmers who worked the 2nd shift in Plant 1, Cannon Mills, was found, and I returned home: A boy rich with memories of many achievements and adventures on a small, Sandhill farm.

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